A Delicious Way to Use Those Tons of Tomatoes
The tomato harvest has been in full swing here in Zone 7. I love having lots of extras to share with friends and neighbors. A gift of home-grown tomatoes is a great way to make some friends, too! I got this fantastic recipe from Organic Gardening magazine several years ago. If you make it you may find out you have more friends that you thought!
Slow-Roasted Tomatoes
Serve on salads, pizza or as antipasto - anything on which you want a concentrated taste of tomatoes.
40 ripe paste tomatoes
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (plus enough to cover tomatoes after they have been put in jars)
20 basil leaves, washed and dried
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
2. Cut tomatoes in half from top to bottom. Use your fingers to scoop out the seeds and juice but leave the fleshy middle divers in place. Place the halves into a large bowl and season them with the salt and pepper, mixing thoroughly. Coat them with olive oil. (I use one of those handy kitchen pump misters to distribute the oil evenly.)
3. Place the halves cut side up onto a baking sheet in a single layer. Roast for 8 hours. Do not open the oven during this period. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and allow to cool.
4. Layer the tomatoes into clean half-pint glass canning jars, alternating each tomato slice with a basil leaf. Cover the layers with olive oil, leaving 1/4" extra oil on top. Tap the jars to dislodge any air bubbles. Tightly screw on clean lids. Place the jars into the refrigerator, where they will keep for up to 2 months. Or, you can freeze them if you are using can-freeze jars.
5. Bring to room temperature before eating. After eating the tomatoes and basil, you can use the olive oil for salad dressings.
Enjoy!